Deficit threatens Ospreys

A major budget-slashing proposal that aims to cut the deficit by up to $4 trillion calls for ending the V-22 Osprey program, but U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry said the Osprey remains vital to the nation's military.

The co-chairmen of President Barack Obama's bipartisan commission released the $3.8 trillion deficit reduction plan Wednesday.

Bell Helicopter, which assembles Ospreys in Amarillo in partnership with Boeing, is in the third year of a five-year, $10.4 billion Osprey production contract for the U.S. military.

The Amarillo plant employs about 1,000 people to assemble the Ospreys, utility helicopters and attack helicopters.

The Navy also is studying the possibility of issuing a second major V-22 production contract, a potential multibillion-dollar aircraft procurement that could boost Osprey production in Amarillo starting in fiscal year 2013.

The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, said in April that the production rate for V-22s is expected to be 35 aircraft annually for fiscal years 2010 through 2012.

The commission's report said the Osprey has had "a troubled history with many developmental and maintenance problems, including critical reports by GAO and others."

The proposed change to terminate acquisition of the V-22 at 288 aircraft - close to two-thirds of the planned buy - would substitute MH-60 helicopters to meet missions that require less range and speed. The substitution could save $1.1 billion in 2015.

Thornberry, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, defended the Osprey program and questioned whether the commission's members have expertise in military matters.

"I appreciate the chairmen of this commission offering some initial proposals to deal with the deficit, but their charge and their expertise does not extend to evaluating individual weapon systems," Thornberry said in a statement.

"In fact, it decreases the credibility of all their other proposals. The V-22 is doing a great job for our military. They need it, and they will have it."